As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, raising money for projects or products through group funding platforms in Croatia seems to primarily be reserved for the blossoming IT sector, rarely does one find much to do with culture on crowdfunding platforms.
Despite that, the spirit of entrepreneurship from the Kucni kolektiv (House collective) association from Klanjec in Zagorje was born. They decided to launch a campaign on Kickstarter to ”do up” the Klajn house there, a space for cultural and artistic activities. The building has existed since 1937 and has had various purposes for decades now – there were apartments, business premises, restaurants, a hotel hall, a cinema, and the space was managed by the National University of Klanjec conducting a cultural, artistic and educational programme. The association bought the house back in 2019 and decided to renovate and revitalise it. They estimated that they needed 57,000 US dollars for that, ie 375,000 kuna, the amount they set out to “get” through this campaign.
“Our idea is through the concept of bringing life back into the Klajn house as a space, bring some new energies, activate the community and create a safe space for creation, living and performance. The decision to engage in crowdfunding arose from the need to bring the hall into an adequate condition for the desired purposes as soon as possible. We estimated that in this way, we’ll manage to reach the required amount in a shorter time period than we would if we depended exclusively on tenders, public invitations and the like. The amount of 57,000 dollars (375,000 kuna) is the estimate of our associate architects and builders who have been with us since we bought the property,” explained Dunja Bovan (32) and Jerko Marcic (42), who manage the House collective association and co-own the Klajn house.
The whole idea of the functioning of the Klajn house is, they say, based on joint work and the contribution of individuals within the team, which they want to transfer to the renovation of the facility and the creation of programmes as the final goal. The campaign on Kickstarter ends on February the 28th this year, and so far it has received around 13 percent of its end goal.
“We’re aware that our goal may be a little too high for average crowdfunding campaigns, especially since this isn’t some sort of new miracle in the tech industry, but so far we’re satisfied. A lot of people support us and share information about the project, we’re in constant communication with people interested in the Klajn house and we believe that the campaign will be successful,” say Bovan and Marcic.
The works on the Klajn house mean the renovation and equipping of the multifunctional hall, and they include demolition and dismantling, masonry and carpentry works, the purchase of a prefabricated stage and auditorium, a dance floor, the purchase of basic audiovisual and lighting equipment… And for each phase, they have transparently published the following: “In case we fail to raise the required amount, our priorities are demolition, dismantling, masonry and carpentry, and we’ll have to achieve the rest from other sources of funding because Kickstarter operates on an all or nothing basis.”
”Works could start as early as March this year, and the cinema and lobby could be ready for the first visitors by the end of May if an ideal pace of renovation and decoration is achieved. If, on the other hand, the amount of donations exceeds the requested amount, we’ll invest in the complete interior decoration of the hall and the purchase of additional technical equipment,” they explained from the House collective.
For more, check out out business section.
